1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a vehicle and, more particularly, to a vehicle that has a mode in which electric power supply involving an engine operation is performed.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, a concept of electric power supply from a vehicle to general electrical instruments outside the vehicle in which the vehicle is regarded as an electric power supply source has been studied as seen in a smart grid and the like with regard to vehicles such as a hybrid car and an electric car in which an electric power storage device with a relatively large capacity is mounted. In some cases, the vehicle is used as an electric power source for a case where an electrical instrument is used during camping, an outdoor operation, or the like.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-236023 (JP 2007-236023 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-051772 (JP 2013-051772 A) disclose configurations for electric power supply to the outside of a hybrid vehicle over a long period of time by the use of electric power generated by driving of an engine as well as electric power of the electric power storage device. In JP 2007-236023 A, in particular, calculation and display of an electric power supply possible time in a case where the current use of electric power by an electric load continues during the electric power supply from the vehicle are disclosed.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-231103 discloses calculation of a travelable distance and a travelable time of a hybrid car based on a generatable electric power amount based on a fuel remaining amount and a dischargeable electric power amount based on a battery charging level.
In a vehicle that has a mode in which electric power supply involving an engine operation is performed as in JP 2007-236023 A and JP 2013-051772 A, the electric power supply possible time is calculated based on the engine fuel remaining amount and a remaining capacity of the electric power storage device (that is, a state of charge (SOC)).
During the electric power supply involving the engine operation, however, the SOC of the electric power storage device rises when the generated electric power that involves fuel consumption exceeds the electric power that is supplied. Accordingly, in a case where the fuel remaining amount is recognized as a discrete numerical value during the calculation of the electric power supply possible time, a case might arise where the recognized value of the SOC of the electric power storage device rises with the recognized value of the fuel remaining amount remaining constant depending on a resolution of the discrete numerical value. In this case, an unreasonable calculation result is obtained in the form of an increase in the electric power supply possible time with the progress of the electric power supply, with which a user might feel uncomfortable. In addition, an inconvenient control operation might be caused in a case where the operation for the electric power supply from the vehicle is controlled based on the utilization of the calculated electric power supply possible time.